I DON'T mean to be a killjoy but something is bothering me about the euphoria surrounding the opening of the new Aviva Stadium.

I've been attending Irish soccer internationals since the 1980s and the one thing that was always a bit of an embarrassment was that we had no dedicated football stadium and had to play our home games on a rugby pitch.

I also remember many occasions when coaches and players complained about the condition of the pitch, particularly if a rugby match had been played on it recently and the surface would often be cut up and badly damaged.

Please sign in or register with Independent.ie for free access to Opinions.